Short and Sweet
by KakaIru-IsMyWorld
Summary: A collection of short stories with Kakashi and Iruka. Yaoi. Don't like, don't read, don't complain.
1. Chocolate Cravings

**Warnings:** Contains yaoi and shounen-ai. (Same warning for upcoming chaps). Flames will be used to burn all stories with KakashiXteam7, because that is just wrong in my book.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own. They are property of Kishimoto©. (Warning for next chapters as well).

--

Kakashi walked through the door to an empty living room.

"Ruka?" He called. "You here?" He strode through the living room, his head cocked for any response. Receiving none he continued through to the kitchen, kicking his sandals off as he went.

"Iruka? I brought dinner, because I figured it'd be easier than cookin – " He paused, cut off by the sight before him. The kitchen was a mess. It looked like a hurricane had gone through it at top speed, and then came back for seconds. Cupboards were ripped almost clean off of their hinges, all of the contents strewn across the counters and the floor, some of them even making the table across the room. The fridge was partially open and in equal disarray, and all of the utensils and pots and pans were clustered on the table, almost to the point of overflowing and falling to the floor.

Cautiously, all of his senses on high alert, Kakashi placed the ramen bags on a small corner of empty counter space and crept through the decimated room. Palming a kunai, he snuck through the doorway and peered around the corner. The hallway was empty and void of destruction, most likely because the walls were bare and there was nothing to shift. In a flash he was at the other end, where the bedroom and storage closet were. Both doors were slightly ajar. Peering into the closet, Kakashi saw that the mess preceded him here too; sheets and bedding were tossed about recklessly and strewn on the ground. Switching his attention to the bedroom, he toed the door open all the way and walked in.

The bedroom was totally trashed; drawers were ripped open and clothes were thrown around the room. The closet was yanked open and looked like it had been sorted through quickly; some of the pockets in the shirts were turned inside out. What surprised Kakashi the most, however, was the bed. It wasn't messed up in any way, shape or form. Quite the opposite in fact.

Iruka was sitting on their bed, a blissful smile on his face and a tub of chocolate ice cream in his hands.

Quirking an eyebrow at his lover and sheathing his kunai, Kakashi was almost scared to ask. It took Iruka almost a full minute to notice him, and when he did his face changed into a small 'o' of surprise. He pulled the spoon out of his mouth from his last bite and swallowed.

"Kakashi! You're home early," Seeing the look on the jounin's face, he chuckled sheepishly and blushed.

"Um, well…"

"Do I _want_ to know what happened?" Kakashi asked dryly.

Iruka blushed deeper and looked at the comforter, clutching the tub possessively in both hands. The lid was about a foot away, and looked like it had been torn off in a rush.

"I, uh, wanted some chocolate ice cream?"

--

Reviews are welcome. I'm not sure how many chapters there are going to be yet though.


	2. Chalk Dust

**A/N:** A little piece in Iruka's classroom ;)

--

As the last child ran out the door, Iruka sighed and turned to the lesson plan still on the board. Retrieving one of the erasers from his drawer, he began to wipe the board clean for the next day. Thinking back on the antics of some of the younger students, he began to wonder how he was going to survive the year. Just this morning, he barely missed an intricate trap involving the door, thirteen rubber bands, two buckets, one filled with chop suey and the other with feathers, and a mop. How it worked, he had absolutely no idea, but he narrowly avoided being drenched, sticky, and fluffy before the day really even began.

Smiling softly, his thoughts wandered. He thought about Naruto, who was out and about on his training journey with Jiraiya. He wondered whether the toad sage was indulging Naruto's ramen addiction or not. He also realized that he missed the blond boy more than he thought he would.

Those thoughts led to Sasuke, and his leaving the village scant months ago.

With another heartfelt sigh, Iruka thought about the last Uchiha, and his quest for revenge. He wished that he had paid more attention to Sasuke, tried to get closer to him and dissuade him from his chosen path.

Without warning, a slight sound alerted the teacher to someone at the window. Without a second though he spun around and whipped the chalk-filled eraser at the intruder and plunged his other hand into his weapons pouch, pulling out two kunai and readying them. Before he could fire, however, a soft chuckle came from the windowsill. Heaving a sigh of relief and un-tensing his muscles, Iruka adopted a peeved expression.

"Kakashi," he started, "why don't you use the door like a normal person would?" Putting the kunai away, he walked over to the jounin, smothering an amused grin.

Kakashi, for his part, had not been expecting the eraser. He was planning on coming in to surprise the chuunin because he was back early. He knew that he could sneak up on Iruka pretty easily, and enjoyed flustering the other man. Kakashi knew that he should have been expecting some form of retaliation (Iruka wasn't a chuunin for nothing), but the eraser… now that was unexpected. He caught it of course; what kind of jounin would he be if he'd let it hit him? The dust was dislodged from the impact, however, and had turned into a puffy cloud that settled around his head. The contrast of the white chalk dust and his navy blue uniform, combined with his shock of white hair and green shinobi vest, made quite a comical picture.

When he reached the jounin, Iruka valiantly attempted a straight face. The look in Kakashi's eye, however, was the limit. He looked… miffed. It was so different from his usual character that Iruka lost it. Laughing at his lover, Iruka gently reached up to help Kakashi wipe the chalk dust away. This, of course, only served to smear it along the fabric, and only made him look funnier.

Kakashi regarded the red-faced chuunin with a mixture of humor and affection. Only Iruka, he knew, would throw an eraser at an enemy. He supposed that it was what was on hand, but still.

"Are you done yet?" He asked wryly as Iruka tried to catch his breath. "Believe it or not, I didn't come in here to get covered in… white chalk dust."

Still chuckling, Iruka regained some of his composure. "Oh, is that so?" He asked cheekily. "Then why did you come here, O Mighty Jounin?" The effect was somewhat spoiled by the giggle fit that closely followed.

"Well, I was thinking of asking a certain chuunin teacher if he wants to go grab some lunch with me." Kakashi replied. He reached out and snagged Iruka by the waist, pulling him snug up against his body. "Is that all right with you?"

Iruka pretended to think about it for a minute, bringing one of his hands up to his chin and staring up at the ceiling. "Well, that would depend on whether or not I know this teacher. You see, I would probably have to go and warn them that a – oomph!" Kakashi brought his other arm around Iruka and tickled his sides, effectively cutting him off.

"I mean you, baka." He chided, sneaking a quick, cloth-covered kiss against Iruka's temple. Sighing into the embrace, Iruka closed his eyes in contentment.

"On one condition." His eyes sparkled mischievously.

"Hmm? And what might that be?" Kakashi asked, with one eyebrow raised.

Smiling broadly, Iruka leaned in so close that they were nose to nose. Kakashi sucked in a surprised gasp; Iruka was rarely the forward one in the relationship, usually preferring to have Kakashi initiate most encounters. When Iruka was a mere breathe away and every part of his body intimately pressed against the jounin, he whispered, "You have to take a shower first. I'm not going to lunch with a ghost."

Kakashi grabbed, but Iruka was a millisecond faster. Kakashi was left grasping at the remnants of a teleportation jutsu before vanishing himself.

All that was left was the echo of laughter.


	3. Lazy Morning After

**A/N:** This is just a short piece of interaction in the 'morning after' with them. Doesn't really go anywhere, and nothing really happens. :

--

Iruka got up and slid quietly out of bed. He neatly replaced the covers on his side, and pulled on some sweat pants to putter around the house in. Walking down the hallway from the bedroom, he reached the kitchen nook and made a beeline for the coffee machine. With that happily bubbling away, he crouched down and pulled a frying pan out from one of the lower cabinets. Placing it on one of the burners, he walked over to the fridge and pulled out a few eggs and a package of bacon. Before long, the smell of scrambled eggs, bacon, and coffee was wafting through the apartment.

Roused by the lack of warmth and the smell of cooking breakfast, Kakashi raised his head off of the pillow. He'd been dozing gently since his return from the memorial earlier, and was looking forward to a relaxing day to spend with his lover.

Lover. He liked the sound of that.

The two had become lovers last night, although the feelings had been there for a long time. They had been roommates for the past few years, ever since Kakashi's apartment was flooded when a freak snowstorm hit and his complex was unprepared for the consequences.

Living together had been amusing, to say the least. They each had their own quirks and habits that made them who they were, and the small apartment was slightly crowded with two people living in it, but they managed to make it work. Kakashi and Iruka had been tiptoeing around their feelings for each other for a couple years now, and it wasn't until after the visit from Itachi that left Kakashi in a Mangekyou coma for several weeks that they made progress. Iruka was incredibly upset and worried, and had said so, and one thing led to another until Iruka just didn't leave Kakashi's room last night.

Humming to himself, Iruka flipped the pancakes out of the pan and onto the two plates on the counter. As he was finishing up, he felt two strong arms wrap themselves around his waist, and he grinned. Lips started at his collarbone and worked their way up his neck, finally stopping at his ear to nibble on the lobe.

Leaning into the caress, he let himself be pulled backwards slightly. "Mmm, good morning."

A puff of breath on his neck gave away Kakashi's quiet chuckle. "A very good morning." Another small kiss, and the hands moved from his waist to the plates on the counter.

"What's with the big breakfast?" Kakashi asked, eyeing how much food was stacked on the plates. There was a pile of pancakes coated in syrup, some strips of bacon and a mound of scrambled eggs. He cocked an eyebrow at Iruka questioningly.

"Well, it's not really that big," Iruka defended. By the skeptical look he was getting, Kakashi didn't believe him. "Really. I usually have around this much food in the mornings. You just wouldn't know that because you tend to get up at noon."

Kakashi smiled, unrepentant. "Why would I get up early if I can sleep until noon? It's not like anyone expects me on time anyways." He walked backwards to the table. Balancing the plates across one arm and holding his cup of coffee in his other hand. Placing them down, he turned back to his lover to grab the condiments.

"You know, if you showed up on time every once in awhile, you wouldn't have such a bad reputation." Iruka said, shyly looking him up and down. Kakashi had also opted for the sweat pants look, and they hung enticingly low on his pale hips, showing them off. Looking back up his torso, he noted some scars that he couldn't see last night and followed their path across Kakashi's chest. From there he scanned up his shoulders, his neck and his face, reveling that he could finally look at it. Contrary to popular belief, Kakashi's face was not disfigured or scarred, besides the one bisecting his sharingan eye, and was actually incredibly handsome. Meeting his lover's one-eyed gaze, Iruka smiled as his heart fluttered predictably; Kakashi could have anyone he wanted. The fact that he chose Iruka never ceased to baffle the brunet.

On impulse, he closed the few feet between them and kissed Kakashi, winding his hands in that flyaway silver hair. Kakashi responded quite enthusiastically, grabbing the waistline of Iruka's pants and pulling him snug against his body. His mouth opened willingly, and Iruka plundered deep inside, wrapping his tongue around Kakashi's. Someone groaned, and it didn't matter who. Losing himself in the kiss, Iruka deepened it further, tasting as much of Kakashi as he could. Kakashi's hands wandered down from his waist to his ass, and cupped the cheeks lightly, pulling Iruka even closer to him. Neither man wanted to break the kiss.

A minute or so later though, they broke for air, dropping light kisses against each other's lips; intimate contact for the sake of contact.

Wordlessly, they separated, the both of them going to their respective seats to enjoy breakfast. They took their time, because they had nothing else to do but laze around and spend the day with each other.

Breakfast done, they wandered into the living room to sit on the couch. Kakashi flopped down on one end with all the grace of a cat and stretched his long body along the entire couch. Iruka went to sit on the floor in front of him, but Kakashi just smirked and pulled him first up, and then down along the couch directly on top of him, so that their bodies were snug against each other. Iruka blushed deeply at the intimacy, and Kakashi chuckled. Wrapping his left arm around his lover to hold him in place, he pulled Icha Icha seemingly out of mid-air with the other. Iruka took one look at it and sighed, squirming a little to get comfortable, resting his head down on Kakashi's chest and closing his eyes.

Lying together comfortably they settled in for a relaxing afternoon of reading and dozing.


	4. A Spoonful of Sugar

**A/N:** This is a little ficlet for Iruka's birthday, which was two days ago -headdesk- Sorry! I couldn't think of anything on his actual birthday, and so I ended up writing this little thing today.

--

It was spring, and looked to be a beautiful day. A robin perched on a nearby sill and trilled out it's song cheerfully to the morning sun, chirping and welcoming the new day. Flowers were opening in greeting as the world around them began to wake up.

Chocolate brown eyes opened to the shaft of sunlight streaming through the open window. They blinked sleepily for a few moments as they adjusted to wakefulness, the left eye closed entirely and the right only open a fraction; just enough to see. Squinting out the window, they caught sight of what their ears had already told them was there. Closing tightly again, and willing the bird to disappear, they burrowed underneath the covers to get a few more minutes of sleep.

The birdsong continued without pause, and a discontented grumble emerged from the bed.

Iruka propped himself up on one side, facing the window and pulling his hair out of his face with his other hand. He glanced out into the spring day, and cheerily wished that the bird would drop dead. Mumbling under his breath, he tugged his overly-large sleeping shirt closer to himself as he swung his legs over the side of the bed. He stumbled slightly towards his dresser and pulled loose-fitting sweatpants on over his boxers, tugging them up past his waist only to have them drop down to hang off of his hipbones after he let go. Pulling his long sleeved shirt down over the waistband, he raked one hand through his hair and wandered into the bathroom.

After relieving himself, he returned to his bedroom and located his slippers. One of them was under his bed, while the other was across the room, looking forlorn and lost in one corner. Rescuing it from dust bunnies, he slipped them on and meandered out into the rest of his apartment, headed towards the kitchen.

Walking down the hallway, he bounced lightly off of the walls as he made his way. Rubbing the heels of one palm against his eyes, as though trying to rub away the last vestiges of sleep, he traveled through the living room, and turned into his kitchen.

He stopped and stared, as though not sure what he was seeing. Iruka blinked a couple of times to verify, and when it didn't vanish, a small smile graced his handsome features, causing the scar across the top of his nose to crinkle in delight.

Sitting on the counter, still steaming hot, was a huge pile of waffles, already coated with butter and maple syrup, as well as a little cinnamon sugar right on top. Just how he liked them.

Grinning, Iruka stepped up the counter and ran his forefinger through one of the streams of syrup leaking off of the side of his breakfast, and stuck it in his mouth. He licked the last bits of sugary goodness off of of it and popped it back out of his mouth, only to coat it again.

As he did so, he noticed a card stuck under the plate. Quickly cleaning his finger, he carefully re-arranged the plate and card so that none of the syrup got on it. Pulling the card a safe distance away from the food, he opened it.

On the front of the card, it said, in elegantly bold lettering:

_Happy Birthday_

Smiling, he flipped it open and saw:

_Here's to you, my love,_

_Wishing you the best on your birthday._

All there was for a signature was a henohenomoheji of a scarecrow and a few 'x's and o's' for hugs and kisses.

Iruka smiled a genuine smile, that only widened at the slight 'pop' and the warm arms encircling his waist. Leaning back into the solid body behind him, he rested his head on a shoulder and turned his face into a neck.

"Happy birthday, Ruka." Kakashi intoned quietly, turning to place a kiss on his temple before swiping some of the syrup for himself.

Iruka chuckled and kissed him, catching a taste of maple in their first kiss of the day.


	5. Jounin and Candy

**A/N: **This is a bit with them in the afternoon, after work. Kakashi needs to go on a mission, and isn't there yet. Oh, and Iruka is hiding something from him.

--

Iruka opened his door a crack and poked his head in, quickly looking around. Once the coast was clear, he darted inside, closing the door and kicking off his sandals as fast as he could. He shot through the living room, down the hall, and into the bedroom. He dug through his drawers and turned pockets inside out, looking for money. Diving to the floor, he rooted through a couple bags and boxes lying underneath the bed. With a quiet, triumphant cry he pulled out a small wad of bills, and stood up.

With a small smile on his face, he left the bedroom and tiptoed down the hall, past the kitchen and out the door, slipping his sandals on as he went.

The door shut with a 'click', and an amused Copy nin dropped down from the ceiling, landing quietly on his toes. Shaking his head fondly at his lover's antics, Kakashi flopped down on the sofa and pulled out the latest copy of Icha Icha and began to read, stretching along the cushions to wait.

About a half an hour later, Iruka returned, grocery bag in hand. At the turn of the doorknob Kakashi shot up from the couch and re-attached himself to the ceiling.

Cracking the door once again, Iruka poked his head in and scanned the room, looking everywhere but up. Once he was sure the room was empty, he came inside and shut the door quietly, toeing off his sandals and leaving them neatly by the door. He tossed his keys onto one of the kitchen counters, and set the bag over on another. He began to pull different items out of the bag, humming quietly to himself as he did so.

Kakashi lowered himself to the ground, making no noise and barefoot. He snuck across the adjoining space between him and his chuunin, who had his back to him. In one quick move he pressed himself snugly against the other man, and wrapped his arms tightly around Iruka's waist.

"Hey, Ruka. You're home early."

Iruka barely held in the surprised noise, and practically jumped a foot into the air. He would have done so, anyway, if Kakashi hadn't been holding him. Ignoring his rapid heartbeat, the chuunin turned as best he could and smoothed his face into a calm mask, reigning in his urge to glare and scold the jounin for almost making him jump out of his skin.

"Yeah, it's summertime now, so we try to let them out as early as we can." Iruka smiled at Kakashi, and continued rifling through the bag, subtly shifting things around so that they hid what was on the bottom.

Intrigued, Kakashi ran one hand up Iruka's shirt, feeling across his chest and snaked the other over the countertop, sliding into the bag and feeling around.

"AH!" Iruka slapped the hand in the bag, making Kakashi pull it out with a pout. "No touchy."

"Aw, but Ruka…" Kakashi whined, hugging the other man to him.

"No, Kakashi." The chuunin scolded, crunching the bag closed with his hands and pulling out of the embrace. "Go read your porn, there's nothing for you in here."

"Hmm." Kakashi hummed, leaning over the counter and holding himself up on one hand. "But I think there is. Why else wouldn't you let me see it?"

Blushing slightly, but trying to hide it, Iruka bent his head down and turned away from the island, putting the bag on the counter next to the sink. "Well, maybe I just don't want you pawing through my groceries." He turned back to the other counter and picked up the boxes of instant ramen and rice that he'd already taken out, and put them over in the cupboard.

Seeing an opening, the jounin smirked and slid up and over the counter, coming to a stop in front of the paper bag. Iruka saw him and lunged, crossing the distance between them and plowing into him, knocking them to the ground. Kakashi landed with a surprised 'oof' and held onto the chuunin as Iruka landed on top of him.

"Well," Kakashi drawled, "Not that I have anything against afternoon sex, but I don't think the kitchen floor is the best place for it."

Iruka glared down at him, only to see his eye do that infuriating upside-down U. Kakashi wasn't wearing his uniform though, so it was marginally less annoying. He didn't wear the mask anymore at home, so he was maskless, in a comfortably fitting tank top and loose lounge pants, and with just a piece of cloth tied over his sharingan eye. His easy smile lit up his face, and Iruka found himself blushing again.

_Geez, Iruka, _he thought to himself, _After a year of dating, you'd think you'd get used to that._ Berating himself for getting distracted, he squirmed in place as one of Kakashi's hands wormed itself up underneath his uniform shirt again. The other hand came up to card through his hair to his ponytail, undoing the hair tie with a quiet 'snap'; the brown locks cascaded down to form a curtain around his red face, as he glared down at the unrepentant Copy nin.

"You… you…" he seethed quietly, as Kakashi just smiled again, running his fingers through the now undone strands. Sighing in defeat, Iruka slumped down onto the other man, thumping his head onto the jounin's chest, ignoring his lover's sudden exhale at the motion. Lying there for a moment, he let himself enjoy the sensation, the light massage of those long fingers on his head.

Bringing himself back to reality, he pulled up off of his lover and, dodging Kakashi's grabby hands, he stood to return to the counter…

… to find a Kakashi clone going through the bag.

Iruka growled, and charged at the clone. It's eyes widened and it dropped the bag, shooting towards the living room and down the hall to the bedroom. Ignoring that obvious ploy to lead him away from his goods, he rolled his eyes, turned and delivered a heavy glare to the Kakashi still on the ground, and reopened the bag.

Kakashi just shrugged noncommittally and heaved himself off of the floor, sitting up so that he was leaning back on his elbows, and just watched. He loved watching Iruka, and had done so for probably six months before he'd gotten the courage to ask him out (six months, three weeks, four days, nine hours, and thirty-two minutes, but who's counting?). He watched the play of his dark hair around his face, and the way the muscles in his back moved while he worked. Iruka stopped to roll up his sleeves and dug around inside one of the pockets of his vest for a spare hair tie (which he'd started carrying around since they began dating) and pulled his hair up again into that high ponytail. Kakashi pouted at the loss, but Iruka wasn't looking at him so he stopped after a few moments.

Grumbling quietly to himself, Iruka redid his hair and went back to his bag. After sorting for a few minutes, he gave Kakashi a pointed look. "Don't you have somewhere to be, Kakashi?" he asked, returning to his work.

He saw the jounin shrug out of the corner of his eye, and get up to lean against the counter. "Maybe."

Rolling his eyes again, he turned and looked at the other man, who was munching on an apple out of the fruit bowl on the counter. "What do you mean, maybe? I know that you have a mission, because Naruto cornered me after class and told me all about it. So, why aren't you there?" He turned to look at the clock, noting disapprovingly that… "Kakashi! It's four 'o clock! They've been waiting for you for over three hours!" He gave his lover the 'sensei look' that he used on his kids, and sent them back to work immediately.

Kakashi just shrugged again, pointedly not looking at him.

Heaving an exasperated sigh, Iruka marched over to him and pulled on his shoulder, dragging him down the hall to the bedroom. "You're gonna get dressed, grab what else you need, and go meet your team. They are looking to you for _guidance,_ Kakashi, and you're supposed to show them the _right way to do things._ That means you _show up, on time._"

"Semantics." Kakashi was grinning at his lover's predictable reaction, but also saw it for what it was; a distraction. He allowed himself to be led into the bedroom, and even manhandled into his uniform, getting in a few gropes as he did so. He was pushed into the living room and had his pouches attached and scrolls and other paraphernalia put into place. The mask was last, and hung loosely around his neck as Iruka tied on his hitai-ate.

"You know, I can do that myself," Kakashi grinned as Iruka's hands faltered, and reached up and snagged his wrists. "I'm a big boy, after all."

Spluttering, Iruka tugged half heartedly at his arms, and huffed, "Well, why don't you act like it then?"

"It's more fun this way." Kakashi laughed, and dove in for a kiss. Surprised, Iruka opened up immediately, and Kakashi wasted no time exploring his mouth thoroughly. He wrapped his tongue around Iruka's and tugging gently, teasing him into reciprocating. Iruka did, moaning quietly as he kissed back, and subconsciously wrapping his arms up and around Kakashi's neck. Smiling into the kiss, Kakashi's arms came around his chuunin's chest, tugging him closer and sliding one hand up into his hair. He tugged Iruka closer still, and dug his fingers into the ponytail.

'Snap'.

Glare.

Smirk.

Kakashi dove towards the window, jumping up and over the couch to do so. He pulled his mask up and finished tying his hitai-ate, calling with a final wave over his shoulder as he left, "I'm getting some of that candy when I get home."

Iruka fumed, growled, and blushed. With a single stomp of his foot, he turned back to the kitchen to finish putting stuff away, searching for a new hair tie as he went.


	6. Homecoming

**A/N:** This is my entry for the kakairu community's Drabble Contest: 100 Ways to Fall in Love over on LiveJournal. It's for Kakashi's birthday. Enjoy!

--

Kakashi was home early, and let himself quietly into the house. It was morning, though the sun had been up for only a few hours. Walking silently through the house, he deposited his weather-worn clothes on the floor of the bedroom and changed, noticing that Iruka wasn't in bed. Frowning to himself, he tugged on a clean shirt and pants, foregoing a fresh mask in his own home. Scrubbing a hand along his face as if trying to rub away the memories of his particularly nasty mission, he padded down the hall, peeking into rooms as he passed them, looking for any sign of his lover.

He made it into the kitchen and his stomach growled plaintively, reminding him that he hadn't eaten in a day or two. Smiling ruefully, he placed a hand over it and let it rest there, closing his eyes for a moment, reliving exactly _why_ he hadn't had time to eat. Shaking his head to clear it of his recall of those last, harrowing hours, he lifted his gaze to the living room, and his breath caught.

Sleeping curled up on one end of the couch, his feet tucked underneath his body and a book lying open across his lap, was Iruka. His hair was down and fell across his shoulders, catching the rays of the early morning sun. Eyes closed in peaceful repose, chest rising and falling with each separate breath, he slept on; unaware that he was no longer alone.

As Kakashi watched, he stirred, his nose scrunching up slightly, shoulders slowly stretching awake. He blinked open his beautiful brown eyes and yawned, arms coming up over the top of the couch to stretch out the kinks from sleeping in such a position. Iruka blinked a couple of times and looked at Kakashi, who was leaning in the doorway to the kitchen, arms crossed and a fond smile on his face.

Upon seeing his lover, Iruka's face lit up, a large smile stretching across his handsome, scarred face. Kakashi's heart skipped a beat, and he strode across the room, sliding down next to the other man and falling easily into his open arms. He pulled Iruka to him, breathing in his scent and enjoying the feel of him, warm and sleep-heavy in his arms. Iruka made a happy noise in his throat, settling down against Kakashi, practically in his lap.

Nuzzling their faces together, Iruka smiled again, leaning in to kiss Kakashi. He returned the kiss easily, holding Iruka closer still, reveling in his presence.

Iruka pulled away only to cuddle against him again, tucking his head under Kakashi's chin. Kakashi tilted his head so his cheek was pressed into Iruka's brown locks, Iruka's arms tightening around him. Against his neck, he heard the sleepy voice of his other half.

"Welcome home, love."


	7. Augmenting

**A/N:** Prompted by a friend over at LiveJournal with the prompt: sloppy joe. Pure domestic fluff. :)

--

Kakashi poked at his plate with something approaching morbid curiosity. He bared his sharingan and watched as the – food? – on his plate slid apart, the bread on top sliding sideways precariously, seeming to stay in place by willpower alone. Cautiously, he lowered his mask, pushing a finger through the pile and bringing it to his mouth for a taste. It was chunky, tasting like meat with several different spices mixed in.

"Oh, for heaven's sake!" Iruka reached across the table to fix Kakashi's meal, righting the bread and somewhat centering the entire mass on the plate. It now looked more or less like a huge, shapeless blob, barely contained by the bun. In fact, the meaty mixture had spilled out of the bun, until the bottom part was completely covered. Giving it another dubious look, Kakashi raised an eyebrow at his lover.

Iruka was glaring. Nothing new there. He kept looking pointedly between Kakashi and the seat, silently demanding he sit. Deciding to oblige, Kakashi sat. And stared.

Next to him, Iruka managed to wedge his fingers underneath the overflowing mess, somehow finding the bun hiding beneath. He picked his up gingerly, cradling it like a sandwich, and brought it to his mouth. After a couple bites, he swallowed around his mouthful and glared again.

"Well?" Iruka gestured to Kakashi's food again (with is eyes; it would've been messy had he tried with anything else) and cocked his head impatiently. "Aren't you going to eat?"

Incredulous, Kakashi's eyebrow climbed even higher. "I'm supposed to _eat_ this?" He looked at his plate, then back up. Iruka was not amused.

"Of course you eat it! What did you think you did with it?" _His voice goes slightly higher when he's angry,_ Kakashi noted, for future reference.

"I was thinking about giving it to Bull."

A vein pulsed in Iruka's forehead, and his jaw tightened. Kakashi quickly scouted out the exits, having become well-attuned to Iruka's moods. This particular brand promised death to anyone within reach.

To his surprise, the chuunin simply pulled in a deep breath before exhaling explosively, massaging his temples. "Kakashi, I swear… one of these days…" He gathered up both plates and strode into the kitchen muttering under his breath. "I try to expose him to new things, but no! 'I'm supposed to _eat_ this?'" He mimicked. "Ugh! Uncultured bastard."

The dishes clanged loudly in the sink, and Iruka half-turned back to a bemused Kakashi, who was resting his chin in his hands on the table, watching him putter and rant.

A mini staring contest ensued. Iruka finally threw his hands in the air, "I give up! You're getting dinner tomorrow. I can give these to Naruto. God knows, that kid'll eat anything." He turned toward the sink to pack up the rest for his favorite student.

With his back to the jounin, Iruka failed to notice the satisfied smirk flit across his face. Kakashi: 2, Culture: 0.


End file.
